John Dixon Paragon was born on December 9, 1954, in Anchorage, Alaska, on an Army base, where he spent his early years before moving to Fort Collins, Colorado, to attend school.
As a talented actor, writer, and director, Paragon is perhaps best known for his work on the beloved children's show Pee-wee's Playhouse, where he brought Jambi the Genie and Pterri the Pterodactyl to life. In addition to writing many episodes of the show, Paragon co-wrote the acclaimed Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special with Paul Reubens, earning a nomination for an Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Children's Special.
Paragon's impressive list of credits includes memorable roles such as Cedric, one half of the gay couple Bob and Cedric on the hit TV series Seinfeld, the title character in the children's movie The Frog Prince, the sex shop salesman in the cult classic Eating Raoul, and the owner of a Strip-o-gram business in the 1986 film Echo Park.
Paragon got his start in the Los Angeles-based improvisation group The Groundlings alongside Paul Reubens and Phil Hartman, and later collaborated with fellow Groundling Cassandra Peterson on numerous Elvira projects, including the recurring role of The Breather, an annoying caller, for her first television series on KHJ-TV-Los Angeles.
In recent years, Paragon has worked with Walt Disney Imagineering to incorporate improvisational performance into attractions at Disney parks, even performing as the keeper of Lucky the Dinosaur during the test runs of the animatronic figure.
After years of bringing joy to audiences as Jambi the Genie, Paragon reprised his iconic role in the Broadway outing of the new Pee-wee Herman stage show, which began performances on October 26, 2010, at the Stephen Sondheim Theater.
